HitPaw vs Upscayl (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Upscayl grades higher than HitPaw: 3.0 against 2.0 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
HitPaw grades higher on platforms. Upscayl grades higher on value for money, the free plan and ease of use. They get the same grade on features.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
HitPaw
AI photo, video and audio tools online and on desktop
Upscayl
Free desktop image upscaler with a paid credit-based cloud
Which one is for you
Pick HitPaw if
- Fits if you restore or upscale old photos and prefer a desktop app
- Works for people who want photo, video and audio tools under one credit balance
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want real results free, as the free plan shows previews only
- Watch out: the 7-day trial renews at $42.99 a month on Windows and $69.99 on Mac
- Pricey if you pay monthly at $24.99, or weekly at $9.99 for 300 credits
- Tight if you use the desktop apps, which are sold and priced separately from the online plans
Pick Upscayl if
- Fits if you want to enlarge photos for free, on your own machine
- Works for people who batch-process images and would rather not upload them
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you need editing or image generation, as those are in the paid cloud only
- Tight if you try the cloud: the trial is 10 credits once, and it needs a trial application
- Pricey if you want cloud credits, at $24.99 a month for 300, and unused ones are lost when you cancel
- Not for you if you want it on a phone, since only desktop and web versions are listed
How we grade them
| 2.0GPAHitPawFair | 3.0GPAUpscaylVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CWeekly is $9.99, monthly $24.99 and yearly $79.99, about $6.67 a month but with 3,000 credits for the whole year. The monthly price is at the top of the category range. | AThe desktop app is free and open source, with no stated limit on images or formats. The cloud service is $24.99 a month for 300 credits, but you don't need it. |
| Free plan and trial | DThe free plan is previews only, with no AI generators and limited exports. A 7-day trial exists for the desktop video app and renews at a high price. | AFree outright for the desktop app, with no account, and it works offline. The cloud's only free offer is 10 credits once, after a trial application. |
| Features | CEnhancing, background removal, image generation, video effects and audio tools. The listing shows a lot of tools but results are previews until you pay. | CDoes one job completely: several models, batch upscaling and your own custom models, up to 16x. It's a smaller job, and editing and generation exist only in the paid cloud. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating is on record, and credits and separate apps add things to figure out. | BNo store rating on record. You download it, drop in an image and pick a model, with nothing to set up. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android, but no API or integrations are listed. | CDesktop for Linux, macOS and Windows plus a cloud web app. No phone apps, no API on the listing and no integrations. |
| Best for | upscaling photos with video and audio tools on the side | a free image upscaler that runs on your own computer |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: HitPaw and Upscayl. How we grade
Price against what you get
HitPaw starts at $43.29 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Upscayl starts at $24.99 a month and scores 2.3.
They score the same, and Upscayl starts $18.30 a month lower. Of the other AI image and video generators on the chart, 48 score higher than HitPaw for less, and 45 score higher than Upscayl for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Upscayl is open source, according to its own site.
- HitPaw also covers video generation.
At a glance
| HitPaw | Upscayl | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $9.99 per week for 300 AI credits ($24.99 per month, $79.99 per year) | $24.99 per month for 300 credits, billed monthly |
| Free plan | Previews only for the enhancers, no AI generators, limited exports and a limited upload file size. | Upscayl Desktop is free and open source with no stated limits on images or formats. Upscayl Cloud gives a one-time 10-credit trial. |
| Free trial | 7-day free trial of HitPaw Ultra (VikPea) on the desktop apps | Upscayl Cloud: 10 free credits after signing up and filling in a trial application. |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | HitPaw | Upscayl |
| Price read from | online.hitpaw.com | upscayl.org |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
HitPaw
- The Free plan shows previews only and has no AI generators, so real use means paying.
- Weekly, monthly and yearly plans each come with a fixed credit allowance, and the Yearly plan's 3,000 credits are for the whole year.
- Pricing shown here is for the online editor; the desktop and mobile apps are sold separately and priced separately.
- Plans renew automatically; the 7-day trial renews at a stated $42.99 a month on Windows and $69.99 on Mac.
Upscayl
- The cloud service is sold by monthly credits, and the pricing page shows only one price at a time as the slider moves.
- If a cloud subscription is cancelled, unused subscription credits are lost and history is deleted after 1 month.
- The cloud trial is only 10 credits and requires a trial application.
- The desktop app has no cloud editing or image generation features.
Key features
HitPaw
- Photo enhancer and upscaler
- Sharpens, denoises and upscales photos. Online, the credit plans cover up to 300 to 3,000 enhanced images depending on the plan.
- AI image generator
- Generates images from prompts, with portrait, headshot, anime and character generators, and lists models such as GPT Image 2, Nano Banana Pro and Flux Kontext.
- Image editing tools
- Includes a background remover and changer, watermark and object removers, a photo retoucher, old photo restoration and an image format converter.
- AI video effects and generation
- Creates video from images and text and applies effects such as AI dance and product videos. Listed models include Seedance 2.0, Veo 3, Kling and Wan.
- Audio tools
- The same credits cover an AI music generator, an audio enhancer and a vocal remover.
- Desktop and mobile apps
- FotorPea (photos) and VikPea (video) run on Windows and Mac, with iOS and Android apps for enhancing, art generation and photo-to-video.
Upscayl
- Local desktop upscaling
- The desktop app does all processing on your machine and needs no internet connection.
- Several AI models
- Choose between different models for different kinds of images, add your own custom models, and run a double upscale for better quality.
- Batch processing
- Upscale several images in one go. The site advertises enlargement of up to 16x.
- Upscayl Cloud editing
- The cloud service lists face enhancement, detail recovery and smart editing, with batch processing.
- AI image generation
- Upscayl Cloud can generate images from a text description in several styles. It is included on the paid cloud plans.
- Large output sizes
- Cloud Pro upscales up to 256 megapixels and the Business tier up to 512 megapixels.
Plans
HitPaw
Free$0
Preview-only results in the enhancers, no AI generators, limited exports and upload size.
Weekly$9.99
per week, billed weekly
300 AI credits a week, shown as $24.99 crossed out. Up to 150 generated images or 300 enhanced photos.
Monthly$24.99
per month, billed monthly
1,200 AI credits a month, shown as $69.99 crossed out. Up to 600 generated images or 1,200 enhanced photos.
Yearly$79.99
per year, billed yearly
3,000 AI credits a year, shown as $199.99 crossed out. Up to 1,500 generated images or 3,000 enhanced photos.
Upscayl
Upscayl Desktop$0
Free, open-source app for Linux, macOS and Windows. Runs on your own computer, with several AI models and batch upscaling.
Free Trial (Cloud)$0
10 credits for Upscayl Cloud, one time. Needs a login and a trial application.
Pro (Cloud)$24.99
per month for 300 credits, billed monthly
Unused credits roll over, 6 months of storage, upscaling up to 256 MP, AI image generation and priority support. The price follows the credit amount chosen on a slider.
Business (Cloud)Custom
Offered for larger credit amounts on the slider, with upscaling up to 512 MP and 6 months of storage. No price was shown for it.
Ways to pay less
HitPaw
- Other savings
7-day free trial of HitPaw Ultra
The pricing page offers a 7-day free trial of HitPaw Ultra (VikPea) on Windows and Mac, renewing at $42.99 a month on Windows and $69.99 on Mac.
Upscayl
- Annual discount
Up to 40% off with annual billing
The pricing page shows an Annual option labelled up to 40% off for Upscayl Cloud subscriptions. The annual prices were not displayed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, HitPaw or Upscayl?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Upscayl is cheaper to start with: $24.99 a month, against $43.29 a month for HitPaw. HitPaw starts at $9.99 per week for 300 AI credits ($24.99 per month, $79.99 per year), and Upscayl starts at $24.99 per month for 300 credits, billed monthly.
Which has a free plan, HitPaw or Upscayl?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both HitPaw and Upscayl have a free plan.
Which platforms do HitPaw and Upscayl run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only HitPaw lists iOS and Android apps and only Upscayl lists a Linux app. Both list a web app and macOS and Windows apps. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.